Chinese outbound real estate investment continued to grow strongly in 2015, though uncertainties persist in domestic market, a report released by real estate consultancy Knight Frank said on Monday.

According to the report, total Chinese outbound capital reached nearly $30 billion at the end of 2015, double that of 2014, and global gateways such as New York, London and Sydney continue to attract the bulk of this investment.

In detail, Manhattan, New York became the top investment destination in 2015, having attracted $5.78 billion in investment, a fivefold increase over the previous year. This was followed by Sydney and Melbourne in second place in 2015. The two cities attracted a combined $3.8 billion in Chinese investment. London came in third place, mirroring the momentum of previous years.

The report also said there were more Chinese developers investing overseas last year, reflecting an appetite for investment diversification.

In contrast, there have only been a small increase in the number of insurers investing abroad. However, the transaction size attractive to the insurance companies is typically far larger than that of other buyer groups.

Meanwhile, some leading regional centers have become attractive to small- to mid-cap investors in search of higher yields.

Global Times